E R N I E ' S H O U S E O F W H O O P A S S

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Ernie, I found your story about the noob dumping his Hardley Ableson interesting. I've been riding for 40-odd years, and yes, your description sounds pretty close to the likeliest scenario. I recently read a study by the NTSB & ABA that showed that a huge percentage of all motorcycle accidents happen to people in their first year of riding. With the accidents involving experienced riders, a large percentage happen to riders on new or otherwise unfamiliar bikes. The common denominator? Practice. Riding a motorcycle is complex skill that involves four-point control, coordination and situational awareness. I ride nearly every day, year round in Seattle. I have two bikes that I regularly ride, my 1999 Indian Chief. An absolute brute of a bike that just throws pure raw power at the rear wheel. The other is the wife's 2002 Honda Shadow ACE 750. A lighter more nimble & manageable bike I ride when it's crappy. (Better to drop the the $5k rice burner than the $25k beauty!) But, switching between the bikes is an issue. When I've been riding one for couple of weeks/months and switch back, I make sure to pay extra attention to the fundamentals. Actively think about your counter-steer, plan the line you're gonna take through the curve before you get there, and most of all... Leave early so you're not tempted to rush and push the speed. Riding is the most fun you can have with your clothes on, but it's also deadly serious. I'm glad to hear you have your head on straight when it comes to riding, but do watch out for the other asshats. Oh, and remember the advise my pappy gave me when I started riding, "Half of 'em don't see ya, the other half wanna kill ya, and you can't tell the difference!" On another note, I'm attaching pictures of my reasons why I, unfortunately, couldn't contribute to LBEH this year. My dumb-ass kid let a simple spider bite fester to the point where he almost lost his finger. $1600 later, it works OK, but wow was it ugly. And if the ol' lady hadn't dropped by his apartment that day, he would have gone camping for three days with it like you see in the first pic. Sheesh! BTW, the bit of white you see in the post surgical pix is bone. They filleted the finger open to relieve the closed compartment syndrome, then left it open to heal on its own. He was being tough and saying it didn't hurt, right up until I pulled the bandage off and started to clean then, then not so much the tough guy! I sent them full size, feel free to edit as needed. Keep up the good work brother! --Harold